Cocoon High
by Momo329
Summary: Vanille moves to the city of Cocoon from her hometown Pulse. Other than being with her cousin Laris, she thinks being in Cocoon will be a drag. That is, until she meets a certain pink haired loner. LightningXVanille AU
1. Introduction

Warning: This is a **yuri** fic, meaning two girls are going to be paired up. Namely, Lightning and Vanille. So don't say I didn't warn you XP Also, the shotgun guy from the Versus trailers (called Laris here) will end up with Noctis. So theres mild shonen ai also. Rated T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII cuz if I did....hehehehe

This is my first fic hehe. I really didn't want to write a fic about a game that wasn't out yet, but this is AU High School, so it should be all right. It's kind of a crossover with Versus simply because I wouldn't have enough characters to work with otherwise. However, I don't like how some of the names of some characters have not been revealed in Versus, and so I just named them according to what others on this site have named them (mostly Yuki Minamoto):

Shotgun guy=Laris

Scarred guy=Marcus

Glasses guy=Cato

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Okay, I guess I should introduce myself. My full name is Oerba Dia Vanille. No, my first name is NOT Oerba. That is my last name, thank you very much. My first name is Vanille.

I always have to clear this up because people from Cocoon take a look at my name and instantly call me "Oerba" which just annoys me to no end. In Pulse, we write our last names first, then middle, and then finally write our first names last. It's just how it is.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I am going to tell you a little about myself. I have lived all my life in Pulse. My best friend's name is Serah, and I miss her. A lot. About two months ago, after school was out, my dad found a job here in Cocoon. I was really happy for him since he hardly liked his job down in Pulse. But then it hit me. We were gonna have to move. Me and Serah spent our last days together as much as possible. I miss her so much. No one here could replace her.

I have to admit it, Cocoon is very pretty. But its pretty in a technological way, not in a natural way. I don't find the smell of metal as appealing as fresh cut grass and pine wood. Yep, I'm a country bumpkin. And I don't like the tall buildings and snooty people in suits here. But yeah, I gotta live here now and that's that. I'm over crying and begging to my parents to let me stay, but they won't have it.

The only good thing I can think of in Cocoon is that I get to live near as well as go to school with my cousin Laris. I've got too many cousins to count but he's my absolute favorite. Whenever he came to visit, it would be like a holiday. Me, Laris, and Serah would always have so much every day he was here. We would take him shopping and he would pick out the cutest clothes for us and we picked out some good ones for him. But anyway, I really love him. He's probably my second best friend. That's why maybe living in Cocoon won't be so bad. We can probably go down to Pulse to visit our other cousins, even. So I'd get to see Serah plenty of times.

But anyway, I think Serah kinda has a crush on Laris. Of course she would. He's cute, funny, and sensitive…which also brings me to the question of his sexuality. What I mean is, I think he's gay. I don't say it to be mean, you know I love him to death! And it's not just his clothes and the way he pays attention to his hair either.

He's always pointing out cute guys. Like sometimes, on a normal day out, he'll just point out a hot guy and say,

"Isn't he cute?" or even say something like, "I think that guy was looking at me. Did you see him? He was looking at me!!" But he never says that kinda stuff when other people are around. Only when I'm there. I think he's trying to tell me that he is. I don't know….I don't mind gay people, especially not if it's Laris. I mean really, it's fine with me. Although I was kinda hoping Laris and Serah would get together. But really, if Laris likes guys it's fine with me. And who knows, he could just be bisexual. Maybe I should actually ask him, when the time is right. After all, I will be spending some time with him in our Junior year at Cocoon High. Haha. That's a funny name.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is the first day. I'm so nervous. Also, it makes me so mad!! We have to wear uniforms in Cocoon. I just got the uniforms and they're so bland and plain. The uniform is made of a plain white button-down shirt with a black tie and a knee-length plaid skirt. I mean, it's ok, but it would get tiring to wear this outfit everyday In Pulse, I could wear all the flashy cute clothes I wanted. Oh well, at least I don't have to stress about what to wear the next day, so I can live with it.

Cocoon High, here I come!

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So there you go, first chapter! It was kinda just an introduction for now. I think I'll update soon so that Lightning can make her appearance. I don't really have much of a plot in my head either, to tell you the truth. We'll just see what happens XD


	2. My Sweet Prince

OKAY, second chapter is up!

I never knew how long other fanfics are, since the chapter in mine just looks so short...

I'll try to write more, like 2,000 words next time...if I have the motivation.

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Geez, the alarm woke me up at 5:30 today. I'm supposed to be at school by 6:20 and classes begin at 6:30. Ughhh….and I'm NOT a morning person. But anyway, I took a shower and got dressed in the uniform.

My parents were downstairs having breakfast. It wasn't until then that my dad told me he wouldn't drive me directly to school, but to a train station. I got nervous there. I've been on trains before, but not the kind they have in Cocoon. Those things go reeeeal fast.

After breakfast, my dad drove me and Laris to the station. It wasn't a long trip, but Laris still managed to tease me. He thinks I'm such a country girl. Well, I am, but I'm used to the city too. Kinda…

"Wait till you see the trains here. The tractors back in Pusle are nothing compared to them!" he told me, making a zooming motion with his hands.

"For your information, we _don't_ ride on tractors to school. We drive there or walk if the school's close enough. Some people take city busses and we even have some trains." I defended my hometown as best as I could.

"Pshyeah, ones that go twenty miles per hour."

"No! They go um…faster than that!"

"Sure…but seriously, your mind will be blown when you ride one of our trains!"

Okay, so I knew they were fast, but not that fast! We watched a couple of them zoom by,

going at least twice as fast as the car, and we were on the _highway_. I squeezed my eyes

shut when one roared by.

Laris….I'm scared" I whined to him when we got to the train station.

"Hehe…how come?" he said with a hint of amusement in his eyes, already knowing the answer. But I answered anyway to humor him.

"Look how fast the trains rush in!! I can't ride in that…"

"You'll be fiiiine. Besides, you got me" he said, grinning away.

"All right, all right..." I finally said, giving up. There was no use arguing with Laris. He smiled his haha-I-won-you-lost smile and held up two fingers representing victory. I sighed at his obnoxious gesture.

After waiting for what seemed like hours for our train to arrive, Laris decided to get us something to drink. He rambled away about this specialty soda found only in the train stations of Cocoon.

It took me a while to realize that I was waiting all alone there for the train. Hundreds of people were bustling by me and my claustrophobia kicked in. I whisked myself away from the crowds of people to get some air.

It was hard to move through the people. I wasn't used to this kind of thing since Pulse is twice as big as Cocoon and half as populated.

It was really strange how many different kinds of people were there. Some people were all important-looking with their business suits on while others were dressed in baggy, ripped clothing and had multicolored hair and bizarre hairstyles. I wasn't sure if I was frightened by them or intrigued. It was _really_ hard to decide.

Somehow, in the mix of trying to escape from the crowd and staring at the various people that formed the crowd, I was pushed down and separated from my messenger bag. Panicking, I reached over for it, but it seemed to get kicked away from me more and more. _N-no…_

Even though it happened in merely two seconds, my mind stretched that little time so that it felt more like two minutes. One minute I was on the ground, reaching for my bag, and the next I was in the arms of a person who was carrying me away to an empty bench. This person even had my bag around his elbow. The person then set me down on the bench and laid down my bag next to me.

I gazed up at the sweet prince who had so bravely rescued me. He was facing me also, although his features were unclear. The sun beat down on the back of his head, making his strawberry-blonde hair appear to sparkle.

"…are you all right?" he said, half mumbling.

"Y-yes…" I managed to choke out, "Thank you…"

"Don't thank me. Just be careful next time." he said in a voice that was not quite cold, but not quite warm either.

I managed to sit up to get a better look at him. He wasn't smiling, but he had a look of concern for me which made my heart pound harder in my chest and my face redden.

His face was absolutely beautiful. His skin looked so soft and clear. My emerald green eyes locked onto his sea green ones. His lips somewhat parted as if he wanted to say something, but they closed in an instant. His hair fell onto his shoulders from one side. He was just like a bishounen from a manga.

Some of his hair brushed against his cheek. How I wanted to touch that cheek…

And I didn't even realize that I was lifting up my hand.

I didn't even notice that I was touching his cheek until I felt his smooth skin against my hand.

His eyes widened at my touch and he pulled away from me, flustered. It was then that I noticed "his" uniform. It was just like mine! And when I mean "just like" my uniform, I mean skirt and all. Not to mention "his" legs were absolutely gorgeous…

Who am I kidding? My sweet prince turned out to be a girl…a very handsome, prince-like girl. Maybe a princess? Nah, more like a knight…a female knight…in shining armor....

A girl…

But she was still backing away from me. Her cheeks seemed to burn red and her eyes were wide. Then I realized Laris standing there behind her. She turned around and met his gaze for a split second. She then gracefully stormed off, still looking confused.

Laris stood there with two sodas looking completely shocked. He looked over his shoulder to the girl walking away, back at me, then to the girl, and then back at me. He smiled a bit, clearly amused.

"What did you do to Lightning?! Haha I've never seen her look like that!" He laughed and sat beside me, handing me one of the sodas. I was still in shock.

"Hey, hey, Vanille…what did you say to her? What happened, huh? Huh??" he persisted, trying to look at my face that I was trying so hard to bury in my hands.

"Nothing…" I mumbled. I was _so_ embarrassed.

"Hahaha are you blushing? You're blushiiing…Something happened with Lightning, didn't it?"

_Lightning…is that her name? _

"Her name is…Lightning?" I looked at him, kind of dazed. He stopped laughing but still had that amused tone in his voice.

"Yeah. She's always so calm, cool, and kind of unapproachable. I dunno her that well. Some of my friends do. She hangs out at our lunch table."

"Oh." Is all I said. Laris seemed to give up for now, but I know he was gonna ask me about it later. But that wasn't on my mind right now.

_Lightning._

_I want…to talk to her…_

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Well, there you go!

Chapter 2...Lightning makes her appearance

And you gotta love Laris XD


	3. Homeroom

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this for like, a month. School began and I have alot of honors classes and one AP class so...yeah.

And it was also Ramadan for this past month, but now it's over and I don't have to go hungry any more.

Thanks for all the reviews, guys!! =D

Well anyway, on to the story. This chapter is much bigger than the others, so I hope it can make up for a month.

You get alot of introductions of the characters in this chapter.

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"YESSSSS!!! You're in my homeroom!!!!" Laris practically screamed, shoving his fist up in the air. It didn't make it any better that the train was so quiet. Probably because most of them were half asleep. "We have the most amazing homeroom. All my friends and friends of friends are in it. And most of our classes are the same if we have the same homeroom!!!"

"Really…" I said, busy reading a book while Laris looked through my schedule.

"Yeah we do. Everyone's in it. Like, everyone cool. It's just awesome. Theres my buddy Snow. You'd like him. I mentioned him before, right? He's totally hilarious. And there's also Cato and Marcus and Noct…"

He paused abruptly. Even though I was reading, I really was listening to him. I looked up to see what the interruption was, but I didn't understand. He had a strange expression on his face. As if he was thinking about something, but it was painful for him to be thinking about it.

"What's wrong?" I finally said. He snapped out of it and blushed. Which was strange, because I didn't know he could _get_ embarrassed. He shook his head and kind of coughed but continued on.

"Oh, sorry. Well anyway, um yeah. And Snow says Stella, and Gadot, Lebreau, and Maqui are in our homeroom too. Poor kid, everyone makes fun of his height hahaha…Snow always picks on him. But in a big brother way, like teasing, you know."

I went back to reading. Laris talked about his friends plenty of times before but I never thought I would actually meet them. Not that I want to meet them. I was very happy home, back with Serah. I still had some pictures of us together in some of my binders to remind me of home. Me, Serah, Garnet, Aerith, Yuna, and everyone else I grew up with. We always took so many pictures in the photo booths everywhere we went. I don't know how I'm going to make it through school without them. I could still call them or use IM but we won't get to do all those things we did before. My parents said we would visit Pulse because we still have family back there, but I wouldn't have long to spend time with everyone. Plus, we could only go during the holidays and those were so far away.

I was thinking of calling Serah right now, but we already talked for so long last night and she was probably still sleeping. Pulse schools don't begin until waaay later. I can't believe how different my life is going to be now. Different friends, different school, different clothes. I hate change. I really do. I glanced at my English binder, the one with the picture we took on the last day of school last year.

My classes were great. The people in it were the ones I practically grew up with since Kindergarten. It was fun to see Zack and Seifer become such gentlemen after suffering from years and years of teasing from them. Squall was always such a loner before, but I'm glad he became friends with Zell and Irvine and fell in love with Rinoa. And Cloud. I had a crush on him since forever, though I never really did anything about it. Cloud was always really cute, but everyone thought he was such a loser. Probably because he used to be short and wasn't really very good at sports. That is, until 6th grade when he moved to Midgar. And then he moved back to Pulse when we got to high school. By then, he had a growth spurt and showed all the other guys up in soccer. By then, _all_ the girls were in love with him.

Which is probably why I never confessed to him. I mean, if all the girls were in love with him, then why would he pay attention to me? I'm pretty sure he liked Tifa, anyway. It doesn't really matter to me. But Cloud was really cool. After he came back, he was so calm and confident looking. As if he could take on the world. He had this determined look in his eyes all the time.

Which is why she reminds me of him. That same look that can make me feel like everything will be all right.

Wait…am I thinking about…

"Oh yeah. And Lightning." Said Laris with one of those Cheshire cat grins.

I blushed. Did he just read my mind? I hate how he does that sometimes! We say the same things at the same time sometimes. We joke to my parents that we're actually twins who have been separated at birth.

I must have blushed or looked surprised or something because his Cheshire grin got wider.

"Were you thinking about her? I knew it! I always know it."

"No, I was actually thinking about Cloud, you know, from my school." I quickly said, and then added, "She kind of reminds me of him, though." I bit my lip.

"Is that why you're so interested in her?"

I thought about it for a second.

"No, that's not why. I just want to thank her again. For saving me."

"…Saving you? Why, what happened?" He actually looked serious now, worried about me.

"Nothing, really. I just tripped and then she—"

"You tripped?!!" He snickered, "Typical Vanille. I leave you alone for _two_ seconds and you trip and fall flat on your face."

"Well there were so many people and—"

"What am I gonna do with you?" He continued, "Maybe hire a bodyguard or something. Like, say…Lightning."

I probably blushed again because he was laughing even harder at me. I pouted and then turned away from him. I always did this to him until he apologized. He can really annoy me sometimes.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry. So what happened after that? Come on, Vanille. Pleeease tell me," he begged. He was probably making that puppy dog face that I always gave into, so I tried really hard not to look at him.

"Come on…I won't laugh. Promise. Well I can't promise that. But I'll try not to!"

And right then the train stopped and a bell rang. The door opened automatically and other students started filing out of the train in an orderly fashion. Laris stood up.

"Oooh, we're here. You're safe for now, but you _will_ tell me eventually." He said in a playful, mark-my-words tone.

"We'll see about that." I challenged.

Along with the other students, Laris and I crossed the street from the station. Most of the students seemed to come to school on train. Cocoon _is_ known for its trains after all. I haven't seen much of the city yet, but I heard that there are stations everywhere here. Which is probably why one of these stations is just across from the school.

The first thing I saw was a tall iron gate, both elegant and intimidating. It was open and people were going inside. I stopped just to admire it for a second until Laris pulled me inside.

"You haven't seen anything yet!"

The inside campus was a breath of fresh air. Literally. There was a path leading to the main building, which I couldn't see too well until I got closer. The campus was filled with cherry blossom trees. The petals softly floated down one by one, as if they were welcoming the students back. I looked around in amazement while Laris put on his most smug smile, as if he planted the trees himself.

"Don't make that face, Laris. I'm just impressed you city people _know_ what a tree is."

"Of course we know what trees are! Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know! I thought maybe you guys made metal trees or something, the way the rest of the city is."

"Well, we _do _have metal trees…but we have real ones too! In some places…"

I explored the campus more with my eyes. All kinds of trees were there, along with various kinds of flowers. There were even Lilies, my favorite. I admit it, I really was impressed.

"I knew you'd like it" Laris said, but not like he was trying to tease me this time.

After a long walk along the path, we finally reached the main building. There were smaller buildings to the side, probably for other classes. There was even a greenhouse off in the distance. I made a mental note to myself to see that sometime.

The inside of the school was vast and almost castle-like. The ceiling was decorated with little chandeliers. I looked around some more, amazed at everything here. Pulse High was simple, but still pretty and comfortable. Here, everything was just so…wow. Could I get used to this?

We went up two flights of spiraling stairs, to Laris' dismay. He was used to using the elevator, but I hate tight spaces. I'm kind of claustrophobic. Besides, the stairs were so artistic and pretty. Laris was all out of breath by the time we got to the top.

"Aaaaand here we are" said Laris, still huffing at the door of my homeroom-to-be. He opened it and a stream of noise flowed out.

"Ladies first." He said with an oh-so charming smile.

He rushed in after me and up to a tall blond guy, who he gave a high-five too. The guy grabbed him and put him in a headlock. After struggling to get out, Laris signaled me to come over. I learned that the tall blond guy was Snow, who is Laris' closest friend. He smiled down at me and shook my hand, happy to finally meet Laris' "favorite cousin." He kind of scared me, but he had a gentle aura about him. I smiled back.

Beside Snow was Gadot, this guy with dark skin and bright orange hair that stuck straight up. He claimed his hair was of natural color and talked about how many teachers he had to convince about it. He and Snow towered over a blond kid who was shorter than even me. This was probably Maqui, since he was having a tantrum while Snow and Gadot were taking turns using him as an armrest. Then Lebreau tried to introduce herself to me while trying to calm Maqui down and convince Gadot and Snow that one day Maqui would be taller than both of them.

In the distance, a girl with dark blonde hair locked eyes with me and smiled. She was previously talking to someone who I couldn't see too well because she and her friends had formed a sort of circle like Laris and his friends had. She waved, said something to her friends, and walked over. She had a peaceful and innocent air about her.

"Hello. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new or…?"

"Oh yes, I am. I just moved here from Pulse. Laris," I pointed to him, "is my cousin."

"I see. Must be a big change to be here, huh?" She empathized. "At least you have Laris to show you around, even though he is a bit of a…"

"Clown? Dork?" I offered.

"Well I was going to say 'a carefree person' but the idea is the same." We both giggled. I liked her.

"Anyway, even though it's big, this school is really pretty."

"Yes, the campus very elegant. Oh, silly me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Stella Nox Fleuret." She said, placing her hand on her chest.

"My name is Oerba Dia Vanille, Vanille being my first name. Nice to meet you."

"Good to meet you, too, Vanille. Here, I should introduce you to my frie—"

"AWRIGHT EVERYONE!!! Get to your seats! Homeroom is about to begin!" boomed a voice. In entered a man with dark skin and an afro. He was dressed in a suit similar to what the male students wore though a bit more professional, so I assumed he was the teacher. He was carrying a stack of cards and some books, which he set down on the desk with a thud.

All the students other than me and Stella scrambled into their seats. I looked around frantically in confusion. The teacher, waiting impatiently for the others to get to their seats finally saw me. He signaled for me to come over and I did so.

"You the new transfer student?"

"Yes she is, Mr. Katzroy." Stella answered for me, and I gave her a thankful look. Mr. Katzroy scared me a bit. And he wasn't what I expected from a teacher at a school like this. He was just so…chill.

"Kay then. Yer lucky you came here only a couple of days after school started so ya don't have much work to make up or nothing." He said, giving me a big grin. "You can go back to yer seat, uh…Stella."

She smiled at me before going to the seat next to a handsome asian-looking guy with dark spikey hair.

"Okay, kids! I mean…ladies and gentlemen" Mr. Katzroy said, getting a chuckle out of his audience, "We got a new student in the homeroom, so she'll be in most of yer classes. You wanna introduce yourself?" I smiled sheepishly. I hate talking in front of a class.

"H-hello. My name is Oerba Dia Vanille. Vanille is my first name." The class was silent, so I added, "Nice to meet you all." There was a loud amount of "hiiii"s and "yo"s and "she's cute"s. I blushed a little and looked down. I get so nervous like this. I was even shaking a little.

"Well anyway Ms. Oerba, let's find you a seat that's not too far away. Let's see…ooh! There's one. Right behind Ms. Farron." I looked at the class, perplexed. _Umm…where?_ I looked back at the teacher.

"I'm sorry. Where?"

"Ooh, sorry. Behind Ms. Farron. Ms. Farron? Raise yer hand so Ms. Oerba can see you."

Then there was silence.

And…was that….snoring?

"LIGHTNING! RAISE YER DAMN HAND!!" he shouted, loud enough so God could hear him.

That girl shot up from her seat by the rude awakening, apparently puzzled as to where she was while looking as bored as possible. The whole class burst into laughter, including the emo guy with spikey hair, who flicked her forehead while she tried to snap back to reality. Laris and Snow were in hysterics. She turned to meet Mr. Katzroy's eyes.

"Whatttt???" She drawled loudly while the class hushed down.

"How'd ya go to sleep that fast?"

"Dunno," She said, her tone monotonous, "What do you want?"

"We got a new student here. She's gonna sit behind ya, okay? I just wanted ya to raise yer so she knew where to sit."

She sighed and prepared to use her bag as a pillow.

"Well if that was all, then I can just go back to slee—"

And that's when her eyes met mine for the second time today. Sea green and emerald green collided for five whole seconds. The whole room was silent and it seemed that no one had even taken a breath.

"Well go on, Vanille." Mr. Katzroy said, unaware of the phenomenon that had occurred. I nodded and started walking down the aisle. Stella gave me an encouraging smile as I passed by her. I could also see Laris, Snow, Lebreau, and Gadot smiling in the distance. For some reason, time seemed to be going slowly.

Lightning's face was buried deep in her bag/pillow by the time I reached her. I finally got to my desk and sat down, setting my bag down. Laris' seat was right next to mine, and Snow was on the other side of him. Great…

"Okay! Now that that's done with…I gotta pass these things out." Mr. Katzroy said, picking up the pile of cards.

"These are your ID cards. You'll need them to open certain doors, especially in the science section. And uhh…just for identification purposed. Anyway, I'll just hand them to ya guys. Too lazy to get up yourselves, anyway." He said, eyeing Lightning. She lifted herself up when he came to give hers.

"Wait…" Laris said, "Mr. Katzroyyyy!!! Vanille wasn't here for the pictures on the first day."

"Oh, that's right. Laris, right? Can you take her to the…" Mr. Katzroy began, but then said, "Actually, Vanille. Lightning here," he slapped her back, waking her up again, "will take you to the office to get an ID card. Need ta wake her up somehow, yanno."

"Oww…can't you wake me up like a normal person?" she grumbled, rubbing her eyes. I couldn't help but to think how cute she was when she did that. From this side, I could only see the short part of her soft, pink hair. It made her look like a boy again. Serah kept her hair like that, too. She always had her hair to the side in a ponytail. And now that I thought of it, even the color of her hair was kinda like Serah's. Strange...

"Well, I would if ya _were_ a normal person." He pointed out, causing some more chuckles from the students.

"So…what am I supposed to do again?" she asked in a let's-get-it-over-with tone.

"Take. Vanille. To. The. Main. Office." Mr. Katzroy said slowly so that Lightning could supposedly understand him.

"Ahh…okay…" She said, just as slowly. "Who's Vanille?" I should be thinking, _ugh, she doesn't even remember my name!_ But what I really thought was _she said my name! How beautiful, coming from her._

Mr. Katzroy's hand found his own face. I have never seen anyone do a facepalm that fast before. He sighed and looked like he was trying to calm himself.

"Vanille is our new student. Yanno, the one who will be sitting behind you."

And her eyes met mine once more when she turned to face me. And in the same second, she had managed to look back at him and close her eyes.

"I see…" she said, getting up. "Come on, then."

I got up and followed her out.

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I hope it doesn't take me another month haha. I'm having fun writing this, so I hope you guys are enjoying reading this.

Thanks again for all the reviews. _


	4. Hint of A Smile

Soooo…sorry I took long. Yeah, I kinda have a life. Hateee school so much. I hope you guys like this chapter, it's pretty long. I hope that makes up for the long wait. Got some new introductions in here. Also, please tell me if any characters go OOC or something. I hate that. And tell me if you found any *distracting* errors in my writing. Thank you!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

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The hallways stood silent. The only sound reaching our ears was that of our footsteps. Hers and mine.

She walked ahead of me, her steps quick and airy. I wondered if she was trying to distance her self from me or if she just had a quick pace like this when she walked. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't reach her enough to walk by her side. I could only see her retreating back…

"Umm…" I began. Her heavy sigh cut me off.

"If it's about this morning, just forget about it." She said.

"Well, I wanted thank you anyway." I tried again.

"I told you to forget about it."

"Okay." I left it at that. I guess she isn't the kind to talk much. I wanted to say something to her. Anything, just to hear her voice for a little while longer. _But what should I say? Umm..how's the weather? No, that's dumb. How do you like it here? I guess that's fine._

"So how—"

"We're here." She said. I reached for the doorknob when I realized she was beginning to leave.

"Wait!" I cried.

She turned around slowly, careful not to meet my eyes.

"What?"

"I…I'm not sure how to get back to the classroom." She sighed again at my helplessness, wearing a very bored expression. How I wish she would smile for once, just so I could see it.

"All right then. I'll wait for you." She came back and followed me inside. The main office was a large room with several doors leading to other rooms. One of the rooms was the principal's office, and the rest of the rooms belonged to guidance counselors and such, I guess. Lightning sat down on one of the chairs lined up in the office. She crossed her arms and slumped back in a very unladylike position. She was facing downwards, as if she was beginning to sleep again. I tore my gaze away from her and focused my attention to the secretary at the desk, who was also looking curiously at Lightning.

"Excuse me. I'm new to this school and I haven't taken a picture for the ID."

"Oh yes, you must be the transfer student." She shuffled through some papers. "Oerba Dia Vanille?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Just go through that door and tell them your name. They'll know why you're here. They'll take your picture and your ID will be ready in about 10 minutes."

"All right. Thank you."

I went inside the door the secretary was pointing at. A man was sitting inside, typing at maybe 200 words per second. When he realized I was standing there, he welcomed me and told me to sit down. He only told me to look up, and in a flash, my picture was captured. _What the…I didn't even get a chance to smile…_

He told me I could wait outside, so I did. As soon as I left the room though, I heard an enthusiastic voice coming from the main office entrance.

"Lightning! How good to see you!! You never come to my office. I've told you countless times to come over and say hello. But you probably don't have the time, do you? Taking on all those honors and advanced classes. My, your aunt is always happy to tell me how you're doing so well in all your classes and your teachers praise you so much as well!"

Lightning nodded to the woman who was speaking and muttered a "thank you."

"Well, well. I should get going now. I've got many things to do for this year. Good luck with all your classes, okay? And keep an eye on Hope, will you? He might have a hard time adjusting, being just a freshman put in mostly juniors' classes."

"Of course, Mrs. Estheim." Lightning said as the woman waved and walked into an office, giving me a smile and a "good morning" before she disappeared inside the room. I must have had a questioning look on my face, because Lightning bluntly said

"Mrs. Estheim. The principal."

"Oh. That was the principal?" I looked back at towards her office, "Ooh, I hope I didn't look like an idiot or anything in front of her. But umm she…seemed to know you pretty well."

"She's friends with my aunt. It's kind of annoying."

"She seems to care about you a lot, though." I said, sitting down on a chair beside her.

Lightning kind of shrugged and shifted a bit uncomfortably. Her feet also tapped the ground rapidly but lightly. A few minutes of silence passed between us. I think…I was a bit afraid to say something to her. For now, just sitting here beside her was enough for me. My eyes wandered around to the ornaments around the room. The only sounds we could hear in the office were that of keyboard keys clicking.

And then, without a warning, a loud bell rang throughout the school. I jumped up maybe three feet in the air. After the bell finished it's ringing, I calmed myself down. Then I heard…a giggle? Something of a chuckle, maybe. It came from Lightning, who covered her mouth and pretended the last two seconds never existed. She put on her usual face, expressionless and uncaring.

"Relax...it was just the bell for first period. That's just English for most of us in the homeroom, probably for you too. We have an excuse to be late for now."

Was that a hint of a smile? I think it was. I smiled to myself. I wouldn't forget this.

In just a few seconds, the man came out of his office and handed me my ID. I wasn't smiling, but it wasn't a bad picture either. Normally, I would've made somewhat of a fuss over it in Pulse, with Serah supporting me. But here, I just thought it was better to accept the ID card as it was.

"Are you done? Good. Let's go." She said, walking away. I followed her out.

So blunt.

"Lightning."

"What?"

"I think you should smile for a change." _There. I said it._ She stopped in her tracks. She seemed to look up at the ceiling. She let out her hundredth sigh of the day.

"I would. If I had a reason to." _Lightning…_

"Well then," I called out to her as confidently as possible, "We'll have to find that reason, won't we?"

I wish I could've seen how her facial expression looked like then. But she shook her head and kept walking. I followed behind, once again, in silence, all the way back to our class. Mr. Katzroy greeted us warmly.

"Lightning, Vanille. Good ta have you two back here. You got the ID there, Vanille? Good, good. You two can get in your seats. Here, take this packet. We were just discussing the importance of the parts of speech in…"

We both sat down and took out a pencil and a highlighter, which is what everyone else had out. Lightning wasn't slouching or anything anymore. She was looking straight ahead, listening intently to Mr. Katzroy. It was amazing to see the change in her, different from how she was in homeroom. Kinda like when she saved me this morning.

Wow. That was just about an hour and a half ago. It totally doesn't feel like it. It feels like forever ago when she saved me. Like a dream.

Again, I was staring into her hair. I guess its "strawberry blonde" like Serah would insist about her own hair. She would hate it when someone called her hair "pink." But Lightning's hair was such a similar color. I mean, not many people have that hair color, you know? Not many people have red hair either. Except some people from one side of my family, like my cousins Reno, Axel, and Kairi.

Serah. Am I trying to replace Serah with Lightning? No, no, no. I don't think so. Lightning makes me think of Serah, but she's nothing like her. She's more like Cloud. Strong and confident, though a bit of a loner. And I used to be in love with him. So wait.

Am I…am I **in love **with Lightning then?

No. No no no. I'm not like that. I mean, I don't mind those kinds of people. I don't. Like Terra and Celes. When they told us they were going out, the rest of us were really happy for them back in Pulse. Plus…there's Laris, and I'm not positive that he is, but I really think so. And I don't mind. Not one bit.

But me? No. No way. I liked Cloud, right? It's not like I suddenly like girls. Lightning is just...really cool. I probably just really admire her. Like an older sister. I bet a lot of girls admire her like that. Yeah, that's it. And she saved me. I'm just thankful to her. That's all. And I think she's totally hot. Yep, that's—

Wait. Nononono…well she **is** hot, but not like that. Like, pretty. Attractive. That's normal, right? I covered my face, embarrassed that someone somehow heard my thoughts.

And of course, there was Laris. Right there when you need him. He and Snow were stifling laughter.

"What?!" I whispered harshly to them, my face still flushed.

"We've been watching you for like, the past ten minutes." Laris laughed.

"You make the funniest faces." Snow added.

"You gotta…hahaha…teach me how to do that."

"Sh-shut up!!" I whispered back to them, pretty loudly if I do say so myself. So much that the Asian guy turned around to look at Laris and me. Laris seemed to stop laughing and stiffen up a bit. Lightning was promptly ignoring us. We caught Mr. Katzroy's attention, though.

"Vanille. Ya got something to share with the class?"

"Um..noo sir. Nothing at all." I put on my most innocent smile.

"Yeah? Let's see how much ya know then, from those Pulse schools. Name the seven parts of speech." _ that all? No problem._

"Ok. Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, and conjunction. Sometimes, the interjection is considered a part of speech." English is, after all, my best subject.

"Whoo!!! All right then, you got it! Don't think many people here remember all those, even though yer all juniors here. Good job." I smiled back at him while Laris gave me thumbs up sign. I couldn't see her well, but Lightning seemed to be counting something back to herself. She would stop at five and then start counting again. Could it be that she didn't know the parts of speech that well? She stopped after a while and sighed. The Asian guy shook his head at her, almost reassuringly.

After that, there were no more interruptions in the class. English was the only class that I didn't feel completely bored out of my mind, even though we were just taking some more notes on the parts of speech and how sentences are structured.

After the bell rang, Laris rushed out the door, dragging me with him. Snow was right behind him.

"So what was that all about, Vanille. The strange faces you were making?" he asked.

"N-nothing! Just forget about it."

"I'll tell you later, Snow. It's a long story, and you gotta sit down for it, man."

"Nooo Laris you better not!!"

"I wiiiilll." He trilled, then turned to Snow, and said, "It involves L-i-g-h-t-i-n-g." Snow thought about it for a second.

"Lighting? Like..lights?"

"Noooo Light-ning!"

"As in...Lightning Farron?" He dropped down into a sort of whisper.

"The one and only! Vanille's in love with her." Snow's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Laris was laughing again. I started yelling at him, looking back and forth in case someone else heard him. The others from our homeroom were pretty far behind. The heat on my cheeks was really beginning to sting.

"Duuude, you serious?!"

"N-NO!! It's just..she's so…and I...NO!"

"She issss. I'll tell you the WHOLE story at lunch….annnd this is our math class."

The math class did have pretty much everyone from the homeroom, minus or plus a few people. Everyone was sitting down. I guess there weren't any assigned seats, so I sat down near Snow, Laris, Stella, and the others. Lightning was two seats away from me. In between us was this little kid with snowy, silver hair. He looked a bit nervous and seemed to be trembling. Lightning was talking to him, though she seemed to make him even more scared. She said something to him to which he shook his head. Lightning shrugged and left him alone.

The kid looked like he was maybe fourteen years old. He couldn't be a junior, a freshman at best. Maybe he was really smart or something. Guess I'm gonna find out.

"Hi there! What's your name?" I said. He looked startled, and then slowly turned to me.

"M-me?"

"Of course, you!"

"Hope…Hope Estheim."

"Estheim…where did I hear that…?"

Um…my mother is the principal of this school so—"

"Ohhhh. Oh yeah, that's right. Now I remember!" "_And keep an eye on Hope, will you?" _And she had asked Lightning to take care of Hope. That makes sense. "So then…you're not a junior, are you?"

"No, I'm only a freshman. I'm just really good at math."

"Well that's cool! You'll have to help me if I get stuck in this class, ok?"

"A-all right!" He smiled weakly, with a hint of confidence. I like him.

Our math teacher was Ms. Nabaat, who was quite pretty, to say the least. Her skin seemed to glow and her eyes were vibrant and lively, especially when she took off her glasses. Half the male population in the class and some of the girls seemed to cheer when she did that. I just stared in awe. She recognized a lot of the people in our class when she took attendance. When she came to my name, she asked me what I preferred to be called, and I told her. She then smiled at me a little eerily, and I felt a bit uneasy.

It was mostly review of Algebra II but I knew once we started doing the Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry in this class, I would be left behind. I glanced at Hope and Lightning, who were both paying attention diligently to what Ms. Nabaat was teaching. Snow and some of the other guys were also closely paying attention to Ms. Nabaat, though not to what she was teaching….if you know what I mean. Laris was doodling and passing notes to Cato and Marcus, who were quite amused.

After the bell rang, we all went ahead to our next class, which was chemistry. How I…despise chemistry. I had theoretical chemistry last year, in which I couldn't get better than a B in. Now I have to put up with honors chemistry, also? Two years of chemistry are required to graduate, I heard. Weird school…

The teacher for chem. is Mr. Rosch. He looks serious and stern. At least Mr. Katzroy was funny and kinda sweet and Ms. Nabaat had um…charm. I felt the need to sit up straight in Mr. Rosch's class, in case he decided to glare at me. Even Laris, Snow and the other guys weren't fooling around so much in his class. We pretty much just went over safety stuff through the whole class. Then we went over polyatomic ions, which brought me to tears last year. What's worse is the lab periods. It's like having chemistry for 2 hours straight.

The only people I recognized in my Major Arts II class were Maqui and Hope. They got along pretty well, too. Maybe it was their height that made them instantly like each other. Just kidding!

Well anyway, after that was uh…lunch? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Oh boy…

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Is my pacing too slow? I mean, this is the fourth chapter and it's still only the first day. I should've combined the first two chapters or something -__-

Oh well...too lazy to change it XD

Expect the next chapter like...next month, probably around Thanksgiving Break or so. Sorry guys, I love this story too but I don't always have time to write it.


	5. A Familiar Face

Ok. So this is what happened. I was writing this chapter. I was like, halfway through it. And then...BOOM..my computer crashed. W.T.F

So yeah, I kinda just gave up on it. You know, I didn't want to start over and everything. And then life caught up, homework and stuff, and...life.

Oh! And then the real game came out. So there was a WHOLE different perspective. I mean, there IS yuri in here. But between Fang and Vanille! Ughh. So um...you get some Lightning/Vanille. And Fang/Vanille. And what the heck, you get FangXLightningXVanille! Neopolitian ice cream. So yeah, I had to change a bunch of ideas.

And its been almost a year, but here it is. I mean, I got some amazing reviewers and I had a bunch of people even inbox me. Thanks for all the support. I hope I can make it up to you guys.

Enjoy Chapter 5 of Cocoon High.

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"….And may I present to you, Lady Vanille, the dining hall!"

"I would say 'WOW! Omigosh that's amazing!' but I've said that today more times than I've ever said it before in my life, sooo I'll just say, 'cool.'

"Well, Lady Vanille, I accept your expression of how impressed you are! Let me have the honour of showing you around," he said, offering his arm. I took it and he showed me around. I liked the vegetarian and soup bars. Some dishes were also Pulsian, so I decided to try them out. Unlike Pulse, we swipe our cards at the register and that's how meals are paid for. _I gotta admit, they make good use of technology._

I took my tray along with Laris, who was sitting with pretty much everyone we just met. There was also another guy there, an awfully feminine guy with blue hair and a customized uniform. He was introduced to me as Yuj. He's a sophomore, but he's Maqui's best friend, apparently. I was surprised at how nice and quiet it was in the lunchroom. We didn't have to scream to have a conversation.

"There comes your knight," snickered Snow. Lightning was walking towards the same table. She set her tray down a few feet from me. She was about to sit down when someone wizzed right up to her and hugged her from behind, covering up her eyes. It was a girl with long, messy hair. I couldn't see her face too well because it was pressed into Lightning's hair.

"Get off me, Fang." _Fang?_

"Awww how'd you know it was me?" came a muffled reply. _Fang…_

"How could I not? You're the only one with the guts to something like this," said Lightning swiftly getting out of the other girl's grip. _How do I know that name?_

"She's right." Noctis said, bringing his tray as well. _Wait…back then?_

"Aw, Nocty. You could back me up here." _It's been so long._

"I'll pass. Why are you so late, anyway?" _So long…._

"Probably overslept," was Lightning's conclusion.

"Lightning, baby! You know me so well! Well anyway I should get some food. Starving from all that sleeping. Hope they have—" She froze as soon as she met my gaze. I blushed again. I didn't know I was staring at them. Her previous quirky expression suddenly turned into curiosity, and then wonder. She looked as if she had reached an epiphany of some sort.

"Vanille. Is that…you?"

Everyone on the table stopped their conversations and set their eyes on us. Lightning looked shocked. Laris broke the silence. As usual.

"You two KNOW each other? Woahh. Weird." I nodded.

"Fang."

"Vanille…"

"It's been…10 years…"

"I know." She was on her knees, her hands gently reached for mine. She was shaking, her eyes tearing up. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." I think my eyes were tearing up as well.

"Well this is…lovely. To say the least," said Lightning, "But I think you should get properly seated, Fang."

Fang sat up, next to me. The conversations on our table seemed to go back to normal. It was awkward, though. Neither one of us knew what to say. Cue Laris.

"SoOoOoO…how do you guys know each other?"

"Vanille and I…we met when we were in kindergarten. My idiot cousin Zack was pickin' on her so I gave him a wedgie."

"I remember that!" I giggled. She finally got a grin plastered on her face.

"Yeah, so after that we were inseperable. Well…until my parents and Zack's family had some weird conflict. And then…we moved away. And never came back."

"We said we'd be best friends forever but…that never worked out, did it?"

"No. And my parents still don't talk to Zack's family. I haven't seen him since then either."

"I'm so happy to see you again." I couldn't believe it. I hated this place but…it brought me back to Fang. Lightning was seated next to Fang her eyes fixed on the other girl. They would sometimes flicker towards me, but went back to Fang. It was as if she wanted Fang to hold something back.

"So am I but…we should talk later. Right now I'm starving!" She grinned, and a flash of memory came to me of her as a child, smiling just like that. Before leaving, she eyed Lightning, who got up and followed her to get food.

"So, wow. Now you have a thing with both the female knight of Cocoon AND her trusty sidekick." Laris.

"Nah dude, Fang isn't always the sidekick. They reverse roles sometimes."

"Yeah but Fang wants attention and love from Lightning. Like a puppy."

"Fang's more like…a_ panther._"

"Yeah! A panther! But Lightning was following Fang this time…"

"Can you guys STOP?" I put my head down. This was too much for me.

"Aww Vanille. Sorry for making you all embarrassed and red and stuff."

"Why's Vanille embarrassed?" Fang and Lightning had returned, a big pile in front of Fang's face.

"N-no reason!"

"Aw Vanille, you're so cute when you're red!" _Oh noooo…._

Lunch continued on like this, with Laris teasing me about not one girl, but two! And Fang and I talked about our childhood, our lives without each other. We were cut short, though, because lunch was soon over.

"Well, you're in a strange predicament," Laris said later, in history class.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're in love with Lightning, who has a thing for Fang. And Fang obviously wants you."

"WHAT?"

"Ms. Oerba! Please pay attention, or else I'll have to change your seat."

"Yes, Mr. Amador."

"_What?_" I whispered, "Where are you getting these weird ideas? About Lightning...maybe. But how does Fang come into all this?"

"Have you seen the way Lightning looks at Fang? And Fang may flirt with Lightning _all _the time but she hasn't taken her eyes off of you since you two met." _Was that true?_

I liked over, and sure enough, she was looking at me far to the left of where we were seated. As soon as she saw me, she turned away. Lightning, to her right, sighed.

"W-well so what? We haven't seen each other in years! I miss her too."

"Not as much as she missed you. And not in the same way, either." _What's that supposed to mean? _

"Laris! Switch seats with Farron. Two birds with one stone, huh?" Laris hesitated before seating himself between Fang and Noctis. He grinned at Fang and weakly smiled at Noctis. The Asian-looking boy nodded at him and returned to listening to the lesson. Lightning glared at Laris thouroughly before sitting next to me. She seemed to open up a bit more now that I was an acquaintance of Fang's.

"She always talked about you. When I first met her in second grade. I just…never made that connection." She said softly, her eyes fixed on the history lesson on the blackboard.

"I…see…I thought about her all the time, too. I remember crying for weeks after she left. I guess it must be the same for Serah right now. Kinda."

"Serah? Your…best friend?"

"Yeah! I…"

"Ms. Oerba! Would you like to sit in the corner?"

"No, sir…"

"Good."

I kept quiet until the period was over, sneaking peeks at Lightning. Her eyes, her lips, her hair. She was just so breathtaking. She gathered her belongings quickly after the bell rang. She looked down at me. Strangely enough, she had the most vulnerable look on her face.

She whispered something, though it was loud enough for me to hear her.

"Please. Don't take her away from me." Was what she said.

And I thought about that single phrase over and over in my mind throughout piano class with Stella and Laris, throughout the train ride back home, throughout the conversation with Serah.

_Please don't take her away from me._

_But where would I take her?_

_

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_

I hope you guys liked it! It's probably really jumbled up because I probably forgot some details. It's been a long time.

I would really appreciate some suggestions and feedback. And what should I do about Light/Fang/Vanille anyway? Lol threesome?


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